Observations of the Blomstrand Glacier Activation in the North of West Spitsbergen Island Based on Data from a Single Seismic Station

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Abstract

At the end of 2019, the automated seismological monitoring system of the Kola Branch of the FRC UGS RAS recorded an increase in weak seismicity localized in the northwestern part of West Spitsbergen Island. The intensity of the seismic process reached several dozens of events per day. A preliminary analysis of the records of seismic events visually revealed a high degree of similarity in their waveforms. To obtain the most complete catalogue and spatial-temporal representation of the development of this seismic process, the cross-correlation detection method was used. The resulting final catalogue contains over 9,000 seismic events in the magnitude range (ML) from –0.4 to 0.6. The localization of the epicenters showed that they are confined to the ablation zone of the Blomstrand Glacier. Analysis of the resulting catalogue showed that the sequence began and ended abruptly, with variations in the amplitudes of seismic events and the times between their occurrence taking place simultaneously. Comparison of the seismic monitoring results with satellite images obtained by the Santinel-2 research apparatus in the radio frequency range showed a connection between this seismic sequence and a large-scale movement of the terminal part of the Blomstrand Glacier, accompanied by massive emissions of ice material into the bay. At the same time, during the period of active seismic process, no significant movements of the glacier front were observed, and large-scale movement of the glacier coincided with the end of seismic activation. Satellite data, as well as the periodicity in the occurrence of seismic events and the high similarity of their waveforms may indicate the manifestation of the phenomenon of stick-slip motion of the glacier along the bed in the process of preparing for a large-scale movement.

About the authors

A. V. Fedorov

Kola Branch of the Federal Research Center “United Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences”

Email: Afedorov@krsc.ru
Apatity, Russia

S. V. Baranov

Kola Branch of the Federal Research Center “United Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences”

Apatity, Russia

V. E. Asming

Kola Branch of the Federal Research Center “United Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences”

Apatity, Russia

I. S. Fedorov

Kola Branch of the Federal Research Center “United Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences”

Apatity, Russia

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